From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Boundless is an album by Finnish a cappella ensemble Rajaton, released in 2001.”
For
those of you who are behind in your Finnish acapella news, this department (Shipping and Shoelaces) has
a report on “Boundless” by Rajaton. Below is a
rundown
on several tracks that look promising.
1.Butterfly
This track explores the life of a poor butterfly who gets
lost at the mall. She has no credit cards or cash so she has to fly back to
Finland. “Life is hard!” she sings after stopping at London to refuel.
2. Un-Wishing Well
This song is based on the famous folk tale about young
lovers who make a wish to live happily ever after. As luck would have it, they
made their wish at the Un-Wishing Well and were struck dead by Topher, the god
of Water Rights.
3. The Lark in the Clear Air
This soaring rendition concerns the Lark who never flies
in bad weather; he is known to call the airport prior to takeoff. Since 1994
larks worldwide have been grounded.
4. We Walk in a Fog
This track concerns a group of friends who do everything
together, as they fear they may somehow be parted. When the fog rolls in, they
join hands and sing. We understand this sounds better in Finnish.
5. Dobbin's Flowery Vale
Irish folk music has never sounded so lilting as in this
tale of Dobbin, a poor student who picked flowers in the vale for his love, who
being allergic, sued him for all he was worth. He spent the rest of his days
singing “O my flowery vale” over and over. Neighbors grew sick of this and had
him shot.
6. Armahan Kulku (The Lover's Path).
This thrilling song is enhanced by being performed in its
original Finnish version. It concerns a couple who make a wrong turn on the
highway of love.
7. Kaipaava (Longing)
The best track was saved for last as Longing, or
unrequited love on a cracker, is practically the national anthem of Finland.
The arrangement by Wuorela and Chydenius, the Simon and Garfunkle of Europe, is
possiby their best work to date. Although purists might prefer their rousing
version of “I am, I said to the chair that wasn’t there.”
If you find that this album merely whets your appetite
for the Finnish acapella of Ragaton, you may want to check out their latest
work, Out of Bounds (2006). To quote from the album notes:
“The English texts are not direct
translations. In the first two, Stephen Hatfield attempted to write English
lyrics that matched many of the vowel sounds in the Finnish versions.”
Oh,
bring it on.